The next day, as Moshtok walked the girls out of the palace and across the tent cities for their daily lesson, they reluctantly told him of the shocking event which occurred the night before in Sharvur's bedroom. At first he told them not to continue with the discussion as it would be very serious if it ever got back to the king they were talking about him in any negative way.
"I have told you girls from the beginning of my lessons that we are all subject to the moods and whims of our king. We should all fear what he could do to us at any time."
The girls quickly stopped their complaints and nodded.
"You must try and think of Sharvur's good qualities, as he has provided a strong defense for us from other tribes. Those further to the East, whose warlords would not hesitate to kill us all and leave no survivors."
Zaria expression, however, seemed not content to remain quiet. Moshtok noticed this stubbornness and continued before she could speak.
"Sharvur is a strange man, everyone knows that, but we do not dare say so. And if you are ever to tell me such things it must be understood I never heard your words. Just as you have never heard mine. We must keep this agreement. Do you understand?"
All three girls looked up at their teacher with admiration and nodded. Branka then meekly spoke up, brushing back her honey-blond hair. "But we do not understand why he has taken this position to treat Svetlana and myself in such a different way as Zaria."
Svetlana then weighed in. "We just do not know what he will do next to her." She was the slightly taller and more robust of the three girls. "Last night he struck her with his horse whip and she did nothing to bring his disfavor! We both admit that our dancing was not what he had expected of us."
Zaria just looked away from the conversation, not wishing to reveal any more of the embarrassment she felt from this being discussed.
"Surely, Mostok . . . you must know why he is this way to us." Branka added.
"Well . . . it is rumored that the king has had many terrifying dreams this year. Dreams of destruction and defeat of our people, they say. He has tried many ways to send these thoughts away but they return to him often."
"But what does that have to do with me!" Zaria expressed suddenly and angrily.
The three others were moved by her outburst. It was obvious she had not recovered from the pain and humiliation Sharvur had brought to her so undeservingly at his bedside.
"Because we are related, I do know that Sharvur has enlisted the help of Krido. He is a very old man who lives in the mountains alone. He is extremely wise and my family has been going to him for advice for two generations."
"What did this man offer to Sharvur," Svetlana asked.
They now continued walking along a narrow path outside the villages. Only the constant wind could be heard amid their soft voices. Moshtok then stopped them along the way. He stood close to enlist their attention and stress their confidentiality.
"You must never reveal that you know this, girls. Especially from me. Is that understood? Do you three promise on your lives you will never repeat what I am about to tell you?"
The girls all affirmed this in a whisper.
"Krido advised Sharvur to try to change his ways. His cruelty. His appetite for sex and violence. To be less of the tyrant he is famous for being."
BẠN ĐANG ĐỌC
The Tattooed Princess
Lãng mạnZaria was a princess-not by blood but by capture. She was abducted in her teens from the western Slavic tribes and kept as a virgin by the powerful warring king, Sharvur. Cruel and strategically gifted, his Scythian armies controlled all the territo...
